Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 36
बालत्वाद्भीषितो भूतैस्तपस्त्यक्ष्यत्यसौ ध्रुवम् । इति निश्चित्य भूतालिं प्रेषयामास वासवः
bālatvādbhīṣito bhūtaistapastyakṣyatyasau dhruvam | iti niścitya bhūtāliṃ preṣayāmāsa vāsavaḥ
“ഇവൻ ബാലനാണ്; ഭൂതങ്ങളുടെ ഭയത്തിൽ തീർച്ചയായും തപസ്സ് ഉപേക്ഷിക്കും” എന്നു നിശ്ചയിച്ച് വാസവൻ (ഇന്ദ്രൻ) ഭൂതഗണങ്ങളുടെ കൂട്ടത്തെ അവന്റെ നേരെ അയച്ചു।
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Scene: Indra, anxious about a child-ascetic’s rising tapas, dispatches a swirling troop of bhūtas toward the solitary boy absorbed in austerity, with Kāśī’s sacred ambience in the background.
FAQs
True tapas is tested by fear and obstruction; steadfastness is the measure of spiritual resolve.
The broader setting is Kāśī in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa; this verse itself focuses on a trial of austerity rather than naming a specific tīrtha.
No specific rite is prescribed here; the theme is the protection and perseverance of tapas (austerity).